


Lie Ren Backstory (headcanon)

by Brandonatron0711



Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Parental Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 19:12:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brandonatron0711/pseuds/Brandonatron0711
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For no real reason, I started wondering what Lie Ren's backstory might be, why he's so reserved and quiet. As such, the impatient writer in me decided to come up with my own backstory rather than just wait and hope to see a canon one. The following story was the result.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lie Ren Backstory (headcanon)

_Lie Ren… please. Help me, son._

Young Lie Ren awoke with a scream, sitting bolt upright the second he gained consciousness. He looked frantically around the room, then let his body loosen, placing his hands on his thighs and panting. He was sweating, his back was heaving, and tears had begun to fall from his eyes. He heard the thumping of footsteps and saw a light flash to life under his doorway. His door opened slowly with a creak, and a head peeked in.  
“Lie Ren? Are you alright?” his mother said in a concerned tone. She was a remarkably beautiful woman, especially for her age. She had flawless, unblemished skin, strikingly pink, slanted eyes and silken black hair that grew to her shoulders, which was currently tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a green satin robe with a golden dragon design stitched into it. Her face was markedly worried, the features of fear imposing themselves on her visage.  
Lie Ren sighed with relief. “I’m fine, mother,” he reassured her. “Just a nightmare.”  
His mother smiled sweetly and walked into his room, sitting beside him on the bed. She placed her hand on Lie Ren’s cheek, wiping away the tears, then cradled his head against her shoulder, softly petting the back of her son’s head.  
All of a sudden, a barrage of footfalls emanated from the hallway. Lie Ren and his mother looked to face the door suddenly, both of them worried. Sure enough, a tall, lithe, broad-shouldered man with a militaristic hairstyle and intense silver eyes stood in the doorway, hand gripping the door violently.  
“What excuse is there for your pathetic bawling at this hour, boy?” he growled in a deep, aggressive voice.  
Lie Ren’s mother stood up from beside him and strode over to the man, appealing to him to calm down. The man pushed her back and slapped her on the cheek with the back of his hand, scolding her disrespect. He then marched over to Lie Ren’s bedside, threw his covers off and dragged him out of bed by the scruff of his neck, setting him down unceremoniously beside the bed.  
“Answer my question, Lie Ren,” he demanded.  
Lie Ren calmed his fearful sobs and looked his father in the eye.  
“I’m sorry, sir,” he said formally. “I had a nightmare, sir.”  
The man cackled, turning dramatically to face away from him. “A nightmare?! Lie Ren, real men don’t have nightmares. Real men have control over every aspect of their lives. Real men are strong. Those who have nightmares are weak. Are you telling me you are not a real man?”  
Lie Ren’s face hardened. “No sir, I am a real man, sir.”  
The man swirled around and struck Lie Ren on the cheek forcefully, knocking him down. “Liar!” he roared.  
Lie Ren’s mother took a step forward, reaching half-heartedly for her son. “Jian, no,” she whimpered. She then retracted her arm and continued to cower fearfully at the back of the room. Lie Ren looked up from the ground at her, tears streaming from his face, then up to the man, whose face had settled to an expression of boundless disappointment.  
“You are a disgrace, Lie Ren,” he hissed. “A pathetic, worthless worm not deserving of my time. You will never make it as a huntsman. Your dreams are nothing more than that, they are unachievable by such a spineless insect as yourself.” He then proceeded to stride from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.  
Lie Ren’s mother dashed over the moment he left, running to Lie Ren and reaching for him. He shied from her touch and scuttled backwards.  
“Lie Ren, I’m sorry,” she whispered.  
“Why didn’t you stop him?” he cried. “You let him do that! You always let him do that! Every time he comes in you just hide from him and let him beat me and throw me around, and when he leaves you come over and act like you want to help! Why don’t you ever just stop him!”  
“Lie Ren, listen to me…” she began.  
“Leave me alone!” Lie Ren shrieked at her.  
She was taken aback and froze briefly as Lie Ren stormed from the room. She heard the door open and slam shut again, and collapsed into sobs.

Lie Ren charged from his room, sprinting down the halls of his home, tears blurring his vision. He continued to run out the front door and into the fringes of the forest bordering his house. He climbed up a tree and sat on one of the highest branches, sobbing heavily. He looked up, gazing out at the village through the curtain of tears. His house was the largest of all of them, with a stone foundation and pillars supporting the framework. Most other houses were simple wooden cottages with thatched roofs. But he didn’t want any of that. He wanted a life like his friend Nora, who lived across town. A kind, caring family without the ridiculous expectations his household forced on him. One where he could grow to be his own man rather than the one he was commanded to be. Nora was a sweet girl, if a bit eccentric. Despite the bumbling social interactions and occasional hyperactivity, Lie Ren could think of nothing better than living with her, at least for a while.  
Lie Ren sighed. He felt bad for his outburst. He knew his mother could only do so much to stand up against people. She was very traditional and knew that speaking out against the man of the house would be viewed as disrespectful. Lie Ren hated tradition for that particular reason. He saw no logic presenting itself as to why that filthy excuse for a man should command respect while a loving, caring woman such as his mother should be expected to stand quietly by and support his every action. It made him sick.  
“Ren?” a high-pitched, feminine voice called from below.  
He looked down, surprised to see Nora standing below him, looking up curiously. She had short red hair, vibrant cyan eyes, and wore an obnoxious amount of pink clothing.  
“Nora?” he called. “What are you doing out here?”  
She chuckled. “I was about to ask you the same thing, silly!”  
Lie Ren hopped out from the tree, nimbly grabbing the lower boughs and landing softly on the ground below.  
“I just needed to clear my head,” Lie Ren muttered, glancing back at his house.  
Nora’s face fell, her typical quirky expression morphing into a solemn, pitying one.  
“It happened again, didn’t it?” she inquired quietly. “He hit you again.”  
Lie Ren looked sadly at her and nodded. She frowned and pulled him into a hug. He sobbed into her shoulder as she patted him on the back.  
“Ren, I’m so sorry,” she whimpered.  
After a long moment, she relinquished her hold on him, leaving her hand on his shoulder as he finished sobbing.  
“Thank you, Nora,” he forced a smile.  
She grinned widely. “Hey, if I weren’t here to help you out, what kind of friend would I be?”

They began to make their way back, walking together to Lie Ren’s house. Suddenly, the sound of helicopter blades whirring washed over them. A military copter flew low above them, blasting them with the downward pressure.  
“What the hell?” Nora shouted.  
She and Lie Ren dashed ahead until they could clearly see the village square. The helicopter hovered above the centre of the square, stirring an uproar of dust and noise. The cargo door slid open and a figure stood in the opening, then leapt down from the helicopter, landing gracefully on the ground.  
“Who is that?” Nora whispered admiringly.  
“I don’t know,” Lie Ren uttered.  
She strutted to the nearest building, her hands pulsing with a soft orange glow. Lie Ren narrowed his eyes with suspicion as she reached out to touch the wooden supports.  
Suddenly, a flash of light blasted from her hand and the support burst into flames. Lie Ren and Nora stumbled backwards with horror.  
“Oh my God!” Nora shrieked.  
The building was burning steadily, smoke billowing as the thatched roof caught alight. The woman’s hands glowed again and runes on her dress began to glow orange. She aimed her arm at another house across the square and blasted it with flame. She continued this onslaught until only two houses remained. Nora whimpered as the woman strode into the last small house in the village, struggling against Lie Ren’s arms as she tried to dash forward.  
“Let me go, Ren!” she screamed. “She’s gonna kill them!”  
“Nora, no!” he hissed. “I know you want to help but if you go, she’ll kill you too.”  
She continued to flail in his arms to no avail. Suddenly, the woman appeared in the doorway of Nora’s home, dragging with her two people, a man and a woman, who were kicking wildly. She leant down and struck the male, who fell to the ground in a heap, immediately being caught and supported by the woman. The woman pointed at the house, a stream of flame roaring from her fingertip. Nora wailed as she watched her lifelong home burst into flames. The woman turned in their direction.  
“Nora, we’ve got to go!” Lie Ren yelled to her.  
They dashed into Lie Ren’s house together, stopping in the main foyer.  
“Nora, I need you to find my mother,” Lie Ren ordered. “Find her, tell her there’s trouble and she needs to run. Get her out of here, please, I beg you. I’m sorry we couldn’t help your parents from where we were, but we might be able to save my mother. I swear, I’ll do anything I can to save your parents after.”  
Nora nodded and dashed down the hallway, searching for Lie Ren’s mother. Lie Ren made his way down a separate hall to the study. Opening the door, he saw it was empty, which was a relief. He searched the shelves for a specific container, an oaken box with an intricate iron lock, tinged with jade green. He found it resting under the desk in the study and heaved it up, taking the key, which he knew was stored in a secret compartment in the first drawer, and unlocking it.  
Inside lay a gorgeous pair of twin weapons, jade green pistols with a pair of foldable blades attached. These were his grandfather’s prized possessions, the Jade Dragons. Lie Ren took them from the container, holding them in his own hands for the first time. The only time he had ever seen them before was when he was much younger when his grandfather still lived. He had promised that Lie Ren would inherit the weapons one day, when he knew the time was right. The grip was a little uncomfortable for him and the weapons were oversized and heavy, but he trusted one day he would grow into them.

He was preparing to leave the room when he noticed a dark figure blocking the doorway. It stumbled forwards to face him in the room, a half-empty bottle of alcohol in one hand, the other hand, one which had struck him so many times, clenched tightly into a fist.  
“What do you think you’re doing, Lie Ren?” the figure growled.  
Lie Ren tensed aggressively. “I’m taking what belongs to me and leaving. This place is no longer safe, I’m moving on. Nora, mother and I are leaving, and you can’t stop us.”  
The figure stood totally upright, swaying slightly, hissing lightly.  
“You dare show such disrespect to me?” he rumbled.  
“You don’t deserve any respect,” Lie Ren shouted. “You’re a terrible person, everything you do and have done in life is wrong! You don’t deserve anything from me.”  
The man roared and flung himself at Lie Ren, who ducked nimbly, sending him crashing headfirst into the desk. Lie Ren took his chance and leapt onto the man’s back, taking one of the Jade Dragons and pounding it into his head, sending the man into a daze. Without warning, a loud explosion and a wave of heat rushed through the house. The man rolled over on the desk and stumbled forward, confused. Lie Ren loosed a torrent of strikes against him, pummelling him in the face and torso until his opponent collapsed, lying beaten and exhausted on the ground. Lie Ren felt the heat searing against his face and ducked under the doorway. He heard a creaking noise as the flames ripped through the wooden structure of his home. A loud cracking noise came from above and one of the crossbeams collapsed, landing directly on the man as he struggled to pull himself up. He was pressed downwards with a loud grunt, and a snapping noise could be heard as several of his ribs broke. The flaming beam lay heavily on his back and he struggled to move. Lie Ren stood emotionlessly in the doorway as the man reached out to him.  
“Lie Ren… please. Help me, son,” the man appealed weakly.  
Lie Ren turned his face and ran as the flames spread across the beam. His father screamed with agony behind him.

Lie Ren sprinted from his house and out the door as fast as his legs would carry him but came to a grinding halt as he saw what lay in front of him. The woman who had laid waste to his town had Nora, kicking and screaming, in her grasp, and his mother laid at her feet with a searing hole burnt in her jade dress. Lie Ren looked up, horrified, and the woman glared back victoriously, a cruel smirk dancing on her lips. Lie Ren pulled the Jade Dragons from his belt, flipping the blades into combat position, and launched himself forward with a violent roar, only to be slammed backwards with a brutal punch. He hit the ground with a thud, struggling for air, as he felt the woman hoist him upwards. She continued to grin with that evil smile as she held him and Nora in the air triumphantly. Lie Ren looked up at his friend, who looked back apologetically, mouthing “I’m so sorry.” He shook his head to reassure her, despite trying to fight tears off. Something caught his eye, however. It had dropped from the trees far behind Nora and now was rushing towards them at a ridiculous pace, something incredibly large in its hands. He saw a flash from the unusually large object and heard a loud bang, simultaneously being dropped by the woman as she twirled around and ducked out of the way of the barrage of bullets.  
The figure leapt high and landed, standing between the woman and them. It was an old man with short, silver hair. He wore a intricate black outfit with red trim, the most prominent feature being the hood. He glanced back at them with a mischievous smile, then twirled his weapon above his head. In a complex mechanical sequence, the large gun he had been carrying extended and unfolded, revealing itself to be an enormous scythe. He brought it down from his theatrical twirl and held it behind him, blade curving upwards, waiting for the woman to make a move. She seemed stunned and perhaps a bit intimidated by the sight. Collecting herself, she stood up straight and clicked her fingers. A loud explosion and a flash of fire burst into existence, causing the old man to shield his face. Lie Ren’s ears were ringing loudly from the blast. He looked up, his eyes pulsing due to the flash of light, but he managed to perceive the helicopter lifting off. Slowly focusing, he saw the woman standing in the doorway, looking down at them, then sliding it shut. The helicopter turned and flew off rapidly, fading into the clouds above.  
“What a coward,” the old man snorted. He turned down and offered a hand each to Lie Ren and Nora, having stowed away his weapon. Nora took his help gratefully. Lie Ren scrambled over to his mother’s body. He checked desperately for a pulse, but felt nothing. He fell over her lifeless corpse and wailed. Nora knelt next to him, placing a reassuring hand on his back as he cried. The old man stood over them solemnly, allowing him his moment to mourn.  
“Ren,” Nora whispered. “We need to go.”  
Lie Ren placed his fingers tenderly over his mothers eyelids, closing them, then looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot and wet. He nodded reluctantly, then turned to the old man.  
“Who are you?” Lie Ren asked quietly.  
The old man smiled. “Young man, my name is Crow. I’m a huntsman, and I’d like to compliment you on your bravery. Not many people would have the gall to even try to fight her.”  
Lie Ren stood up and the old man continued.  
“I’m one of the teachers at SignalAcademy. It’s a preliminary training facility for huntsmen and huntresses, perhaps you’ve heard of it. We need to get you out of here, to somewhere safe, because you’ve got nowhere to stay now…

…congratulations on your acceptance into Signal.”


End file.
